Romney and the “47%”

A video of Mitt Romney, recorded surreptitiously in May, has him saying "there are 47% of the people who will vote for the President no matter what". Alas, this number is roughly correct, though polls would suggest that 45% is a more likely base figure.

Romney went on to say that this is so because the 47% are dependent upon government, believe it has a responsibility to care for them and consider themselves victims.

Given the response from the media (both liberal and conservative) you'd think that the GOP nominee had truly gone off the deep end.

Those on the left were appalled by the slander of the 47%, while those on the right were offended by the sloppy arithmetic and, as one prominent conservative pundit put it, Romney's "arrogant and stupid" remarks.

Indeed, Mitt Romney's reference to Obama's supporters as being dependent on government benefits was overstated.  But it is highly likely that the 48 million Americans on Medicaid, for instance, are mostly Obama backers.  [The Democratic Party has long had a lock on the poor population. Some cynics might suggest that the food stamp rolls have risen by 15 million during the Obama administration in part due to political calculations.]

But liberal activists and ideologues, or people who vote for Democrats because they always have, or the millionaires and billionaires in Hollywood and New York City who fund liberal causes are also part of the Obama core. Of course, they are not necessarily or usually on the government dole. So it is fair to say that Romney's analysis of opposition voters was indeed sloppy.

But the main point of his comments is valid, indeed.

A person receiving government benefits wants them to continue. Therefore, he's inclined to support candidates who will maintain and increase them. Of course, this is a generalization to which there are undoubted exceptions. But doesn't common sense and human nature tell you that it's basically true, whether the recipient is on Medicare or Medicaid?  And the more dependent a person is on government aid, the closer his allegiance and likely support is given to politicians who support increased spending.

And so it is dead on to say that such voters will be likely Obama supporters.  The fact that such voters are increasing in number – see dramatic rise in food stamp recipients noted above  -- spells big trouble.

Everyone agrees that the America's fiscal condition is horrible. Our national debt has risen from 10 to 16 trillion in four years. We spend money we don't have.

But where is the political will to halt this insanity? Of course, polls suggest that people do want government spending brought under control, just as long as their benefits aren't cut.

As more people receive governmental support, the less inclined the public will be to vote for people who will attack the problem. 

That is what Romney was talking about.